Vehicle & Equipment · Driver Training VideoFull Pre-Trip Walk-Around: Step by Step

Federal rule first

Before you drive, you have to be satisfied the truck is in safe operating condition: brakes, steering, lights and reflectors, tires, wheels and rims, horn, wipers, mirrors, coupling devices, and emergency equipment.

So use the same seven steps, in the same order, every single time.

Step one: the approach

Before you touch anything, look at the whole rig from a distance. Is it leaning? Is there fresh fluid under it? Then read the last DVIR. If defects were written up, make sure the mechanic signed off that they were fixed, or that repairs weren't needed, and sign it yourself.

Step two: the engine compartment

Oil level. Coolant. Power steering fluid. Belts tight, not cracked or frayed. Hoses not leaking, wiring not chafed. Look at the ground under the engine. Fluid there is a message. Read it.

Step three: in the cab, start the engine. Oil pressure should come up within seconds. Watch the air gauges build. Check the horn, the wipers, the heater and defroster, and the mirrors.

Step four: lights

Headlights, high and low beam, and four-way flashers on. Then get out and walk.

Step five: the walk-around itself

Front of the truck: steering linkage, no loose or missing parts, no cotter pins gone. Steer tires need at least four thirty-seconds of tread, every other tire at least two. Look for cuts, bulges, and exposed cord. Wheels: rust streaks from a lug nut mean it's loose.

At the coupling: fifth wheel locked, jaws closed around the kingpin shank, release handle in the locked position, and no gap between the fifth wheel and the trailer apron. Air lines and electrical cord connected, not tangled, not dragging.